History Textbook

In elementary school through middle school, my teachers taught from a history or social studies textbook.  I have been learning about history and the present much differently at John Carroll.  I like how we can use the internet to do research and create projects and essays to tie up everything that our class learned.  Traditionally, students learn about history "by the book."  Textbooks offer a wide variety of topics that can be covered throughout a school year.  It is easy to take notes from a book and read real text.  As the times change, textbooks can be out-of-date while the internet always has late breaking news and current events.  Most textbook cover world history or American history.  Textbook and books educate us on past events that has shaped the world or countries into what they have become.

Blast to the Past

In the past, life was simple and was never as hectic as our lives today.  Not many people played sports or had extracurricular activities like an average student has today.  Adults didn't work as much as they do now.  Not many people have a lot of free time like myself because between school, sports, homework, and sleep.  Many high school students are involved in clubs and sports teams and it consumes a good amount of time out of their day.  Adults working full-time jobs are not home much.  Many high school students can drive themselves to places to meet up with friends.  Students will tend to be less social with their families and would rather spend more time with friends.  One thing that makes the today's would "modern" is how people communicate with each other.  Social networks and cell phones have made it easy to contact people through the web or texting.  Before the internet and cell phones, people would pick up the phone and talk to each other.  These days, not many words are exchanged during a conversation.  Forms of communication have changed.  It is a lot more convenient for most of the world, because not many people meet face to face anymore.  Skype is a good tool to use because people from across the globe or country can video call and talk face to face, somewhat.  A lot of Americans spend time on their cell phones because you can access the web and email.  Before there was email, letters were sent to people.  Our world is constantly improving technology so we need to do our best to stay with the times, but remember some of the other ways we can communicate as well.   

Into the Future

Question: Does history progress?
Answer: I believe that history progresses because humans are constantly moving and their actions create history. Whether it is a minor event or a major event, history impacts the world in big and small ways too. Past U.S. presidents had changed our country in big ways but my "dailie" post will have an impact on the people who read my post because I am expressing my opinion on history. History has always been around. Even though humans were not around to record events that had happened before us, there are always clues we can find to uncover the mysteries of the past. Every human action on the Earth is history in the making. Some things in history will change the world forever, sometimes for the good or bad. Countries constantly progress depending on the choices the leader makes. Events in the modern world lead up to results that can effect a mass or small amount of people. I think the expression "history repeats itself" is true because some events can happen multiple times, but the outcome can be different every time. Some people repeat the same process everyday and that may affect their life later. World history is an important things to learn because past world events have shaped the modern world into what it is today. Tomorrow when I wake up, it will be hard to believe that I won't think much of yesterday. My actions will affect the people I interacted with and make their lives different. Learning about history is the key to the future because we can learn from past decisions and make our world a better place to live.

Mammoths are extinct and seem to be much larger than elephants.  Mammoths were hunted and all the body parts were used resourcefully.  Elephants are hunted as well, and it has become a big issue.  Both animals are equal, expect for the fact that one of them is extinct.

Exam Post #9

1. Students can find ways in the community to help out. An example would be volunteering at a soup kitchen.
2. Researching third world countries and find out what we can do to help situations there.
3. Adopt an endangered animal.
4. Find ways to conserve electricity at home.
5. Donate money to foundations in need.
6. Visit the Red Cross website to find a place to donate blood.
7. Research local places to gather up service hours.
8. Register for a 5K run.
9. Register for the Polar Bear Plunge.
10. visit a local animal shelter website.

Exam Post #9

<iframe src="https://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=dq46gs2_7ccn9fgc2" frameborder="0" width="410" height="342"></iframe> If Austria were my home...

Exam Post #8

1. A regional food hub is a local facility with management, processing, storage and distribution of local marketed food products. They are sustainable to food distribution because they help local farmers buy and sell their food. The fresh, local food can be sold and can create more jobs in rural areas.
2. You can find Granova Poultry at Broom's Bloom Dairy in Bel Air. You can find fresh meat at the Mill of Bel Air. Broom's Broom and Brad's produce have fresh vegetables to eat.
3) There are many local places to get fresh produce and meat in Bel Air. I propose that the school broad consider asking for meat and produce from the Mill of Bel Air of Broom's Bloom Dairy in Bel Air, Maryland. This would a wonderful opportunity for the JC Sustainable food day. We could educate the students on local food by taking class trips to the dairies and other local farms in Harford County.    

Exam Post #7

1. The climate is changing because the global surface temperature has increased 0.74 degrees Celsius since the late 19th century. The temperature increases about 0.13 degrees every ten years. Some parts of the globe have not increased in temperature but have cooled instead.
2. Human activity has increased greenhouse gases and a lot of carbon dioxide is being released into the atmosphere.
3. The climate is warming but not globally.
4. Some parts of the globe have cooled and haven't been "blanketed" by the greenhouse gases. Parts of the southeastern U.S. and North Atlantic have cooled.

Exam Post # 6

Congratulations!

Exam Post #5

There are so many names for soda pop in New Mexico because there is a lot of people coming from different parts of the United States to live there but the majority of the people say Coke.

Exam Post #4

The most unfriendly city in the U.S. is Los Angeles. I went to the newspaper site and Google Chrome Allowed me to translate the article into English. http://www.koreatimes.com/

Exam Post #3

1. The car parked on 30 Vesey Street is blue.
2. It was 2:30pm when Google took the picture.
3. The name of the church was St. Peter's Church.
4. There are ? number of people wearing sunglasses.

Exam Post #2

Statistics can help educate people about the rapidly changing world and all the changes that has affected the world's society. Graphs are easy to read and give important information Our class looked at the graph of AIDS around the world and found that many countries in Africa have many cases of AIDS.

Exam Post #1

The sudden drop in the graph is because in 2001 there was a terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. September 11, 2001 had a sudden drop in air travel and incoming people to the U.S.

Q & A with MinJung Kim

 

Q: Tell me a little bit about yourself. Where you are from, how old you are, how junior year is going, your favorite thing to do, things you are interested in at school, etc.

A: “I'm from South Korea and I am seventeen years old. My junior year is going pretty well except that I have to work a lot harder than last year. My favorite things to do are shopping, hiking, and playing instruments. I'm in the pit orchestra and play violin. I also play badminton.”  

Q: How hard was it for you to learn the English language?

A: “I started learning English when I was young. When I was in Korea, I usually learned how to read and write. Also, most good Korean private schools require students a certain level of English skill. I think that's why I first tried to learn English as my second language. However, I never really get to speak it even though there were some speaking classes during my life. It's like we were not allowed to speak Korean in the class but no one really listened. It's really easy to answer why. Do you want to speak in Spanish to your American friend when both of your Spanish are poor?”

Q: Has learning English been useful to you in any way?

A: “It has been very useful to me. For me, it was very helpful to come here. If I had known nothing about English, I could never gotten these grades in John Carroll. But, what I more look for is not now. I want my English to be very fluent for my future. It's going to help me getting in a good job and also be very convenient when I travel other countries. I love traveling other places”

Q: Do you prefer speaking English or Korean?

A: I prefer speaking Korean to English because I can say anything that I want to say when speaking in Korean. Although my English has improved a lot so far, mine is still not perfect and I feel very discouraged when I want to write something that I know in Korean but not in English. But when I go to Korea, I feel very proud of speaking English because knowing more than one language is very important and worthy there. And when my friends say they are jealous of me knowing English a lot better than them, I feel perfect. (Laughs) You know what I'm talking about.

Q: What opportunities have you been given while you have attended John Carroll?

A: “I was never involved in school activities in Korea. The first reason was that there were not many activities and the second was that I wasn't interested in any. Since I've transferred to John Carroll, I've been involved mostly in the music department. I'm in the orchestra, chorus, music ministry, and musical.

Other than that, I started thinking about my future seriously while having many opportunities here.”

Q: What are some of the big differences between American schools and Korean schools?

A: “I think you guys have a lot more activities here. In Korea, a student's daily life is like this: get up, study, school, finish homework, prep school (English, math usually), own study (Korean SAT), and sleep. Students here play sports for their own satisfactions while studying hard and getting good grades. Nobody set this rule but it kind of became a common sense now. It doesn't mean they never learn other things rather than academic stuff. But they literally stop what they've had for their hobbies when they go to high school. It's not a thing that they have some choices. When you are in Korea, if you want to get in a good college, your first step is leaving everything behind and just study until you graduate.”

Q: If there was one word you could describe your time in America what would it be and why?

A: “Adventure. It was exciting to see new things and experience the things that I'd never seen before I came here. However, living without my own family and leaving all my friends in Korea have been hard for me. Also, I had to overcome my poor English skill compared to American students' because there was no advantage when it came to the grades.”

Q: Why did you choose to come to high school in America?

A: “I chose to come here because I wanted to go to college here. It is much easier to go to American college from American high school than Korean high school which sounds like a common sense to me. I also wanted my English be better."

The German Exchange

Dear Journal,

Living in Germany this past semester has been a life changing experience. I have seen what life is like for someone living across the Atlantic Ocean in Europe. Life is simple and very “eco-friendly” in Germany. I have been staying with a girl named Katerina. Back in America, many families (like mine) are very busy and do not have a lot of free time. I found out that about 25% of people in Germany have more free time. I have done a lot of bike riding and sightseeing on the weekends. The work ethic here is different. An average American with a job works about 1,797 hours per year. An employed person in Germany works about 1,344 hours per year. That’s about 453 more hours to find something to do then just work. Germany uses 46% less electricity than America. I tend to forget to turn off the TV or switch off a lamp light, but my Katerina's mother will not allow it to happen. Did you know that 50% less oil is here in Germany? The country only consumes at least 3.1331 gallons of oil per day. Plus, they spend 48% less money on healthcare. Lately, America is having a lot of problems with their healthcare system and has caused much stress on my family back home. Germany has only spent $3,465 for their system. Along with having the best economy in Europe, you would have an 11% better chance of being employed! America’s struggling economy has caused many people to lose their jobs, even some of my loved ones. I could only imagine some of the opportunities that the unemployed workers in the U.S. would have here.

Even though they are the 15^th largest country in the world, Germany has 40% less babies than the U.S. The country has a crude birth rate, so only 8.21 people are being born for every 1,000 people. There is a better chance that an infant will not die at birth, and a better chance of a person living 1.17 years longer. All over the world, AIDS and HIV is a huge problem but only 0.10% of adults in Germany suffer from these diseases.

The architecture, landscape, and the culture has convinced me to come back someday. I have visited castles, cities, beautiful beaches, and even went to the Oktoberfest! Although I miss my family, I am sad to be leaving Germany and the friends I have made here. I’ll be heading back to Bel Air soon, I am making one more trip Berlin. We’ll be leaving for the train soon so I will write when I get home.

Chiemsee Lake

Schloss Neuschwanstwin Castle

Berlin

Hamburg

Teisenkopf Forest

All pictures retrieved from Wikimedia Commons

Facts from http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/